The new Taco Bell restaurant that’s being built on the site of the old Servicemen’s Clubhouse on Springfield Avenue was in the last stages of construction on Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11.
IRVINGTON, NJ — Veterans Day was different in Irvington because the landmark old Servicemen’s Clubhouse that used to sit on Springfield Avenue has been replaced by a new Taco Bell fast food restaurant, which is not yet open.
This year’s event was also different because it marked the first time new Camptown VFW Post 1941 Commander Penny Register presided over the municipal event, with Mayor Tony Vauss and Donald Malloy, director of the Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department.
“We didn’t have a parade this year. We just gathered at the War Memorial and placed the wreaths and flowers,” said Register on Tuesday, Nov. 14. “After we put out the flowers and took some pictures, we went over to the Fire Headquarters in Civic Square to have some sandwiches.
“But the big news is our claims clinic is going to be at the post on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and, from 2 to 6 p.m., the Freemasons are going to be having an awards ceremony for the veterans.
“The Town Hall meeting is going to be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the same time as the clinic, and Congressman Donald Payne Jr. is supposed to come and speak. We’re having breakfast at the post, starting at 9 a.m., too.”
Vauss said he plans to attend the veterans event at the post.
“We had a great Veterans Day. It’s always a pleasure to honor our veterans who have served this great nation of ours,” said Vauss on Monday, Nov. 13. “The new Taco Bell restaurant is absolutely a sign that economic progress is happening in the township of Irvington.”
Vauss said the new chain restaurant would provide much-needed jobs for the community, in addition to increasing commerce along Irvington’s main commercial artery. Irvington Municipal Council President David Lyons, a veteran, said that as nostalgic as the old Servicemen’s Clubhouse might have been, it had fallen into disrepair and was not being utilized for its intended purposes by the time it was demolished. The land it sat on was sold to the Taco Bell developers for $800,000.
“I don’t know when the last time that house — and I’m calling it a house, not a Servicemen’s Club, on purpose — actually served as a Servicemen’s Club,” Lyons said on Aug. 24, 2016, at the height of the public debate about the sale of the property. “The house has been everything except a Servicemen’s Club. The actual Servicemen’s Club, if you want to be real about it, is the VFW. The place has been used as everything but a Servicemen’s Club. It hasn’t been functioning in that capacity for years.”
Lyons was referring to Camptown VFW Post 1941, located on Chestnut Street on the other side of town. According to current post members, the demolition of the old Servicemen’s Club was a “done deal” for a long time before it actually occurred.
“The Servicemens Club was not being utilized in the best fashion that it should have been utilized,” said Camptown VFW Post 1941 Senior Vice Commander William Powell on Saturday, May 13.
The old Servicemen’s Clubhouse is not longer standing, but it will be missed.
To learn more about the claims clinic at the Camptown VFW Post 194 or the Town Hall meeting, call 973-351-0600.
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